Born near Lake Constance in Southern Germany, he was the son of Nakasius and Maria Romer. As a child, he exhibited a special love of the sea and later became a merchant seaman.
The following article is a special Five Quarters supplement written and designed by SJHS member Valerie Sims. It tells the tale of the legendary Captain Franz Romer, who set out to make the first recorded crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a sea kayak. The SJHS Media Committee is grateful for Valerie’s captivating contribution.
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Before departing on this adventure, Captain
Romer filled his specialized Klepper kayak, called
the Deutscher Sport, bow to stern, with food
and supplies to last the duration of the trip. He
presumed the voyage would take him about 3
months, so he stocked up with 60o cans of food
and about 75 gallons of water remembering to
include lots of lemons for his favorite beverage,
lemonade.
The Klepper-made kayak was a wooden
framed craft, much like a sailing canoe, covered
with rubber and canvas. It was made to be
collapsible so that one could carry it under their
arm. It was only 21 feet 6 inches long, with a
depth of 18 inches and a mast 8 feet high. Captain
Romer himself played an intricate part in its
design and construction with the Klepper boat
company of Rosenheim, Bavaria.
Once the bow was packed with foodstuffs,
Captain Romer had to eat through a good portion
of his supplies in order to stretch out his legs.
Consequently, during the early portion of his trip,
he suffered greatly from boils and muscular
atrophy. Undaunted, he paddled and sailed at
least 35 miles each day.
Since he couldn’t stretch out, he slept upright
in a seated position under a homemade rubber
sheet, designed to keep the water from splashing
into his face. From a small hole in the fabric, a
tube extended so that he could breath. Given the
situation, he was only ever permitted a few
minutes rest at a time, which made the passage
quite labored and exhausting.
Captain Franz Romer seated in his custom-made, 21-foot kayak valued at $2,000.
THE COLLAPSABLE KAYAK
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Map showing Captain Romer’s route from Lisbon to the Virgin Islands.
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THE VOYAGE
The Captain made his way along his
navigated route with a paddle as needed, but
mostly moved with the help of the deck-mounted
sail. From the boom, he attached a guideline that
held his rudder true, regardless of whether he was
awake or asleep. To navigate, the only technology
available to him was his compass, sextant,
binoculars and a barometer, which proved to be
sufficient.
During his voyage, there was a period of five
days and five nights that he had no sleep
whatsoever. The constant exposure to the sun,
wind, rain and spray; calm days and stormy ones,
all took their toll on him. To elevate his spirits,
and break the monotony of the isolation, he often
sang or talked to himself.
According to the September 13, 1928, New
York Times Article, titled, Canoe Adventurer
Talked to Sharks:
“Sun and salt spray tortured Captain
Romer’s hands and arms, and they were swollen,
blistered and stiff. He lost his hat in a wind.
Then his head, neck and back got more of the sun.
Three sharks took a curious fancy to his
craft. They played about the canoe, swimming
from side to side, at times darting under the boat
and coming so close that he could feel the scrape
of the fins through the flexible rubber bottom.
Capt. Romer, lonely, talked to the sharks but they
swam away.” Although, on another encounter
with inquisitive sharks, Captain Romer had to
feverishly bang two food tins together to scare
them away.
Gratefully, he finally reached St. Thomas
alive, after turning down the assistance of several
Great grandfather, Herman O. Creque, snaps a photo of Captain Franz Romer as he recovers at his La Mesure Estate. The Captain, with his sailing journals safely tucked under his arm, was most likely looking for a quiet, shady place to update them, as he planned one day to write a book about his extraordinary adventure.
Recently, I discovered two photographs of
Captain Romer amongst my great-grandfather’s
papers. One was the photo of him taken in
Creque’s Alley standing next to his kayak and the
other was of his celebrated ride through Main
Street in St. Thomas. Interestingly, great-
grandfather was seated in the car as well. Puzzled
by their connection, further research revealed that
Mrs. W.M. Perry, wife of the government
agronomist stationed in the Virgin Islands, had
written a letter to the newspapers indicating that
“Captain Romer planned to rest in St.
John, probably a month, before resuming
his voyage to New York.”
Guided by a hunch, I quickly scanned my
ancestor’s photos of the properties he owned in St.
John during 1928 for any evidence of a visit by
Captain Romer. To my surprise, in one of the
photos of the cattle enclosure at La Mesure Estate,
was a man resembling, none other than, Captain
Romer himself! After enlarging the photo, I
quickly found another picture of him online to
compare the distinguishable features. Indeed, it
was evident that the man at La Mesure Estate had
the same strong jawline and deep-set eyes as well
as the familiar officer’s hat that Captain Romer
always wore. I now realized that great-grandfather
must have extended him a personal invitation to
recover from his harrowing journey at his home in
St. John, and in time, had the opportunity to get
to know him further.
It’s uncertain what Captain Romer may have
said about his travels as he was recuperating,
enjoying the warm hospitality of the Creque
family. However, he later made an insightful
remark to someone about the “heart breaking and
blood curdling moments he experienced as he
crossed the Atlantic.”
Sadly, little did great-grandfather know that
not only was he one of the first to greet the
intrepid traveler, but that he would soon be one of
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THE PARADE
The Governor of the Virgin Islands, Waldo A. Evans, sat in the rear along with the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Emile A. Berne, as Captain Franz Romer stood to greet the crowds. Great-grandfather, Herman O. Creque, dressed in a dark suit, and his young son, Henry, were excited to be accompanying them
on this parade route down Main Street, riding in a brand new cadillac.
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Some of the departing words for Captain
Romer, as he left the Virgin Islands, heading
for Puerto Rico, were printed in the August 25,
1928, St. Thomas Mail Notes. His Excellency,
Governor Evans remarked... “It is our sincere
hope that the same providence that brought
you here will guide you safely to your
destination and preserve your life for the good
of your fatherland and humanity in general.
We wish the brave Captain, Godspeed.”
On September 11, 1928, Captain Romer
made his departure from San Juan Harbor in
Puerto Rico, hugging the shoreline to
ultimately reach Florida and later Battery 3 in
New York Harbour. He was to be awarded
$25,000 from an American company if he
succeeded.
Unbeknownst to him, an insidious
hurricane was quickly advancing up the
leeward chain of islands. Soon, it would
become the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto
Rico in its history. It later became known as
the San Felipe Segundo Hurricane or the Okeechobee Hurricane and killed upwards of 4,000 people nationally.
Unfortunately, Captain Romer missed the hurricane warning in Puerto Rico by one hour and steered straight in front of the deadly Category 5, which was silently approaching from the east.
Tragically, the hurricane followed the exact same path that Captain Romer chose to reach the Americas. He had been sailing for two days, reaching close to the northeastern tip of the Dominican Republic, before the high velocity of the winds, pelting rain and enormous waves consumed him.
To this day, no trace of him, his kayak, or his infamous travel journals were ever found. Despite his death, and despite no written
